AB1724-PARE WHAT DO PEOPLE LIVING WITH MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN CONDITIONS DESCRIBE ABOUT THEIR PAIN? AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF ELECTRONIC FREE TEXT PAIN DIARIES
Authors: S. M. Ali, R. Santisteban, W. Dixon, S. Van der Veer
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2023)

<h3>Background</h3> People living with musculoskeletal pain conditions prefer pain self-reporting for better pain management [1]. In a recent feasibility study, 104 people living with musculoskeletal pain conditions completed daily pain manikin reports, along with an optional free text pain diary using their own smartphone [2]. People shared their motivation to daily self-report their pain if that could improve their self-management [3]. There is a potential of electronic pain diaries to improve pain management [4], while it is unknown what people would describe in an optional pain diary to improve thier pain managment. <h3>Objectives</h3> The objective was to explore what people have described in their free text electronic pain diaries, which could be useful for improving their pain management. <h3>Methods</h3> In a recent study, we assessed the feasibility of daily pain self-reports for 30 days. A daily pain self-report included a single overall pain intensity question, a two-sided two-dimensional pain diagram, and a free text pain diary (see figure 1). For the latter, people could provide additional information in response to the question: Is there anything you would like to share about your pain diagram? We conducted a secondary thematic content analysis of the free text pain diary entries and identified key domains and ideas described by people. We presented themes descriptively. <h3>Results</h3> Out of 104 people, 94 completed 957 unique pain diary entries. We have presented key domains, ideas and illustrative quotes in the table 1. People described how medication and self-management practices (e.g., heat therpy, physical activity) helped them in managing their pain. They also described different aspects of their pain, including pain descriptors (e.g., pain location, quality, radiation), perceived causes (e.g., physical activity, cold weather) and consequences of pain (e.g., limited mobility, lack of sleep). People perceived some factors, such as medication, and level of physical activity, as both cause and consequence of their pain. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Electronic free text pain diaries provide useful information about people's pain management practices. However, how best to track pain and self-management practices for effective pain management requires research. <h3>References</h3> [1]Kang Y &amp; Demiris G (2018) Self-report pain assessment tools for cognitively intact older adults: integrative review. <i>International Journal of Older People Nursing</i>, 13(2): e12170. [2]Ali SM et al. (2023) Feasibility and acceptability to use a smartphone-based manikin for daily longitudinal self-reporting of chronic pain. <i>JMIR mHealth and uHealth</i> (in press) [3]Ali SM et al. (2023) Explroing the cross-cultural acceptability of digital tools for pain self-reporting: A qualitative study. <i>JMIR Human Factors</i> (in press) [4]Jamison RN et al. (2001) Electronic diaries for monitoring chronic pain: 1-year validation study. Pain, 91(3): 277-285. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> NIL. <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None Declared.